Horse With A Buggy Behind

Ray Fitts lived  near the dam off Snipsic Street where the water company tanks are now located. I think we met while fishing, not at the snip, but probably at the "Pape" (Paper Mill Pond), downstream of the dam. I spent most of my waking hours exploring the perimeter of this spot in my early teens, always with a fishing rod.

Ray introduced me to his own prime fishing grounds which consisted of the Snip itself and Ray's secret spot, the Race just below the dam behind the Minterburn Mill. We became friends and it wasn't long until Ray talked me into going horseback riding. He liked horses even more than fishing so one day, we visited a horse livery where we rented horses for the afternoon.
It was located at the intersection of Rte. 83 and --. Today it's one of Vernon's busiest intersections with a Citgo station on one corner where the stable used to be, a gas station across the street, and a Walgreen's on the opposite side of Rte. 83. In those days, the property was miles of fields and bridle trails where we could spend an afternoon riding for a buck or two.

It wasn't long before Ray was back at the stable to pick up Major, a handsome black stallion, which he purchased for $50.00. A neat buggy soon followed and before I knew it we were trotting around the streets of Rockville, which in those days were happily quiet enough to do safely with a fair amount of caution.

Ray was a good friend. He shared his favorite fishing spot at Arushan Rock where we could fill a bucket with yellow perch during the spring spawning run.

Ray's parents owned an operated a General store at UCONN and also had the concession rights for the hot dog stand at the football field, so I was allowed to help out at the stand and watch UCONN football games in those early days. I also remember mucking out Major's stall on a couple of occasions, but all was worth it for the fun of going about town with Ray and his horse with the buggy behind.

I don't remember whether  Ray or I moved away first, but I lost track after I moved to Westport. Ray was a good friend and I tried to find him when I moved back to northern CT, but a recent google revealed that he passed away more than 20 years ago. Thanks for the memories of the days when we were "horsing around" Ray.``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````